Many different processes of additive manufacturing are commonly used to produce machine components. These processes may include, among others, Continuous Fiber 3D Printing (CF3D™) and Stereolithography (SLA).
CF3D™ involves the use of continuous fibers embedded within material discharging from a moveable print head. A matrix is supplied to the print head and discharged (e.g., extruded and/or pultruded) along with one or more continuous fibers also passing through the same head at the same time. The matrix can be a traditional thermoplastic, a powdered metal, a liquid resin (e.g., a UV curable and/or two-part resin), or a combination of any of these and other known matrixes. Upon exiting the print head, a cure enhancer (e.g., a UV light, an ultrasonic emitter, a heat source, a catalyst supply, etc.) is activated to initiate and/or complete curing of the matrix. This curing occurs almost immediately, allowing for unsupported structures to be fabricated in free space. And when fibers, particularly continuous fibers, are embedded within the structure, a strength of the structure may be multiplied beyond the matrix-dependent strength. An example of this technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,511,543 that issued to Tyler on Dec. 6, 2016 (“the '543 patent”).
SLA also involves the use of a light-emitting device (e.g., a UV light projector, an electron beam emitter, or a laser). The light-emitting device is computer controlled to selectively energize a layer of resin within a vat in a particular pattern corresponding to an outline of a part. The resin (e.g., a liquid photo-polymerizing resin) solidifies upon being energized, and a subsequent layer of resin within the tank is them energized in a new pattern. This may continue, with the part being incrementally raised out of or lowered further into the vat, until all layers of the component have been fabricated. Parts produced via SLA may have high-resolution surface finishes.
Although parts fabricated via CF3D™ and SLA may have some desired characteristics (e.g., high-strength and high-resolution, respectively), neither process alone may be able to provide all desired characteristics of both processes. The disclosed system is directed at addressing one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.